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Problem: Find Peak Element

Medium
30 min
Explore how to identify a peak element in an integer array using a modified binary search approach. This lesson helps you understand the concept of peaks, apply efficient search techniques, and solve problems with logarithmic time complexity, preparing you for technical coding interviews.

Statement

You’re given a 0-indexed integer array nums. An index i is called a peak if nums[i] is strictly greater than its neighboring values (the elements immediately to its left and right, if they exist). Assume the array has virtual boundaries where nums[-1] = nums[n] = -∞, so the first and last elements can also be peaks.

Your task is to return the index of any one peak element (if there are multiple peaks, any valid peak index is acceptable), and your solution must run in O(logn)O(\log n) time.

Constraints:

  • 11 \leq nums.length 1000\leq 1000

  • 231-2^{31} \leq nums[i] 2311\leq 2^{31} - 1

  • nums[i] != nums[i + 1] for all valid i.

Problem
Ask
Submissions

Problem: Find Peak Element

Medium
30 min
Explore how to identify a peak element in an integer array using a modified binary search approach. This lesson helps you understand the concept of peaks, apply efficient search techniques, and solve problems with logarithmic time complexity, preparing you for technical coding interviews.

Statement

You’re given a 0-indexed integer array nums. An index i is called a peak if nums[i] is strictly greater than its neighboring values (the elements immediately to its left and right, if they exist). Assume the array has virtual boundaries where nums[-1] = nums[n] = -∞, so the first and last elements can also be peaks.

Your task is to return the index of any one peak element (if there are multiple peaks, any valid peak index is acceptable), and your solution must run in O(logn)O(\log n) time.

Constraints:

  • 11 \leq nums.length 1000\leq 1000

  • 231-2^{31} \leq nums[i] 2311\leq 2^{31} - 1

  • nums[i] != nums[i + 1] for all valid i.